Mordechai Gifter
| Mordechai Gifter | |
|---|---|
| Position | Rosh Yeshiva |
| Yeshiva | Telz Yeshiva |
| Began | 1964 |
| Ended | January 18, 2001 |
| Predecessor | Chaim Mordechai Katz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 15, 1915 Portsmouth, Virginia |
| Died | January 18, 2001 |
| Nationality | American |
| Denomination | Haredi Orthodox Judaism |
| Parents | Yisroel Gifter |
| Children | 6 Binyomin Gifter Shmuel Zalman Gifter Yisroel Gifter Shlomis Eisenberg Chasya Reisman Luba Rochel Feuer |
Rabbi Mordechai Gifter (October 15, 1915 - January 18, 2001) was the rosh yeshiva of the Telz Yeshiva in Cleveland and among the foremost religious leaders of Orthodox Jewry in the late 20th century. He studied in yeshivas in Lithuania and held several rabbinical positions in the United States of America.
Mordechai Gifter was born in 1916 , in Portsmouth, Virginia to Yisrael and Matla (May) Gifter. He was raised in Baltimore, Maryland where his father Reb Yisroel owned a grocery. He was known as Max at the time and attended the Baltimore City Public Schools and received his religious education in after-school programs. He had a younger brother and sister, both who predeceased him.
As a young man Gifter studied in the Rabbi Isaac Elchonon Theological Seminary of Yeshiva University in New York, New York, under the tutelage of Rabbi Moshe Aaron Poleyeff and Rabbi Moshe Soloveichik. His uncle, Dr. Samuel Saar, was the Dean of the Seminary. In 1932 at Saar's advice, Gifter traveled to Lithuania to study in the Telshe Yeshiva.
Gifter was immediately accepted for admission and placed in advanced classes. He developed a strong bond with Rabbi Zalman Bloch, the Dean of Students at the yeshiva. He eventually became engaged to Bloch's daughter. In 1939, prior to his wedding, Gifter returned home to the United States to visit his parents in Baltimore. He planned on returning to Lithuania for his wedding and to resume his studies.
When it became obvious that he would be unable to return due to the political climate of the late 1930s, he arranged for his bride's family to join him in the United States. Only his bride came; the family chose not to abandon their community in its time of greatest need. The Gifters married in Baltimore, with Mrs. Gifter's family still in war-torn Lithuania. One of the witnesses at Gifter's wedding was Rabbi Dr. Bernard Lander, then a rabbi in Baltimore and later founder of Touro College.
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